Playing For Your Life
by Vrenash
Summary: When the skies above the 13 Hierarchical Cities burns with a blinding light, surprise covers the faces of those that see it. When the title "NOL is SOL!" races across the air, intrigue and fury are also added to the mix. This game show is unlike anything the people have seen before, with contestants of terrible power. What then, is the mysterious host planning?
1. Chapter 1: Let the Games Begin

Playing For Your Life Chapter 1: Let The Games Begin

Darkness hung in the air like a shroud. All was concealed, hidden within the murky depths. Sounds whispered through on occasion, the whir of a gear here, the moving of wheels across a smooth floor, a muted grunt of discomfort. It was as though reality itself waited for something to be revealed.

It wasn't long before the desires of reality were granted. From somewhere high above a spotlight burst into life, shining a column of light down to tear a pathway through the gloom. Standing within this pillar of illumination stood a man tall in stature and broad in shoulder. He was clad in a suit composed of thousands of small purple gems somehow linked together. When he raised his hand up to slip it through his heavily oiled purple hair, to ensure that his pompadour hair hadn't shifted, the suit cast a scattered barrage of purple rays rushing off into the darkness. Smiling, his teeth shone starkly against his perfectly tanned complexion.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!" The man's voice called out clearly through the gloom to echo around him. It was a voice embodying confidence. "Welcome to tonight's very special broadcast, brought to all the Hierarchical Cities for one night only! My name is Ezekiel Solaar, and I will be serving as your host on this most auspicious of evenings. So sit back and enjoy everyone's new favourite show: NOL Is SOL!"

From somewhere within the gloom emerged the cheers, whistles, and hollers of a well-trained studio audience. Allowing himself a few moments to bask in the wonder of it all, eventually Ezekiel raised a staying hand.

"Thank you, thank you. I could savour your fervor all night, but then we'd never even meet today's contestants." Chuckling to himself Ezekiel continued through the crowd's laughter. "So then, let's get right to the introductions.

"Prepare yourselves ladies, for our first contestant is a man to die for. Lord knows enough people already have. With a sword as big as he is, and a bounty on him that's even bigger, you start to wonder if he isn't trying to compensate for something. Then he opens his mouth and you realize it's his people skills and smarts that need the tune up. So get ready to soak in that first look, because once he starts talking the ratings start falling. Put your hands together, for Ragna the Bloodedge!"

Another flare of light erupted to deliver a column upon the aforementioned Ragna. Standing behind a platform displaying a large blank screen and nameplate above it, his right hand was raised to shield his eyes from the sudden glare. After a moment his eyes adjusted and his hand lowered to take the handle of his massive sword.

"Just who the hell are you, and what am I doing here?!" Shouted Ragna. Tightening his grip on his weapon, he lowered his voice menacingly. "You had better have a good answer, and cut the bull shit. Otherwise this will be a short chat."

"How very cruel, you ignored my entire introduction." With feigned disappointment Ezekiel raised the back of one hand to his forehead and swooned backwards. The movement sent a prismatic wave of purple light washing over Ragna. "Because you refused to listen, I no longer feel the need to explain things to you until all of our contestants are revealed."

"I warned you to cut the bull shit. Now, we'll have to do things the way they always go." With a roar Ragna leapt forward, his massive blade trailing behind him.

It was a very short distance that the feared Ragna the Bloodedge, The Grim Reaper, traveled however, reaching just in front of the stand with his name on it. Then, with a blinding flash, a wall of purple lightning crashed down upon him. White hair standing on end, smoke rising from his long red jacket, Ragna was hurled backwards. Behind him another wall of lightning licked against his form, before allowing him to bounce off of it as well to collapse down to the floor behind his pedestal.

An echoing chorus of laughter arose from the gloom, with Ezekiel smiling calmly to himself, a threat gleaming in his deep purple eyes.

"I recognize that lightning," grated out Ragna as he pushed himself to his feet, leaning heavily upon his massive blade. Smoke still wafted from him, but his mismatched green and red eyes bore a heavy warning. "What have you done with Rachel?"

"Oh, you mean Miss Alucard?" Chuckling to himself Ezekiel paused a moment, appearing to brush a piece of dust from his suit jacket, before finishing his thought. "I had initially wanted to invite her along to serve as a very special guest, or perhaps even another contestant. She refused most vigorously. Luckily for me, I took a little sample of her power with me when I went for a parting gift, and to give her the chance to make up for her rude behavior." With a snap of his fingers an arc of purple lightning swirled around his broad shoulders. "Luckily for me that the lightning goes perfectly with my attire."

"You what?" Confusion was written all across Ragna's face. He had never seen anyone use lightning but Rachel, and how could this man have taken that power from her?

"Now, after that exciting introduction we should probably get back to the script." Clapping his hands together Ezekiel turned his full attention back to the void around him. "Our next contestant is a real cutey, especially when in uniform. She'll try to help someone in need no matter how dangerous, and loves to cook. Don't let her love of cooking fool you though folks, the dishes she prepares are just as likely to kill you as her Armagus pistols. If we're really lucky she might even do a bit of a transformation act, and show us what she can do when she's unleashed. And I don't just say that out of longing to see her change of attire. So, give a very warm welcome to Noel Vermillion!"

With a flash the pedestal beside Ragna was illuminated, revealing a blinking and slightly awe-struck Noel Vermillion standing behind it. Her long blonde hair was unbound, with her bright blue eyes watering slightly in the glare. When she looked around, she couldn't hide her surprise at the first person she saw: "Ragna, what are you doing here?!"

"I was going to ask you the same thing, idiot." Ragna turned his attention back to Ezekiel. "You can use me in your sick game if you want, but let the girl go. She's been through more then enough as it is."

"Sorry to say but I can't do that," came Ezekiel's casual response. "We need contestants, and viewer panels show that cute girls make for much better television. Unless you want us to dress you up in Noel's uniform there Ragna, but I fear that might send us into a whole different demographic."

"You can't try and solve this on your own Ragna," shot back Noel. "You're injured already, so you'll need my help. Whatever this game is, I'll win it and free both of us."

"How touching, the forming of teams within a free-for-all game show." Fanning himself with one hand, Ezekiel sobbed once lightly, a single tear gleaming in one of his eyes. With a flash of his head the tear disappeared, as did his sympathy. "It would be touching if it weren't so completely idiotic. Maybe it's about time we brought someone a little big smarter aboard to serve as a contestant. Luckily, we have just the man to raise the average IQ in the room. True, he has a lot of work to do, and he is an NOL representative, but it's not like that makes him a monster or anything. No, it's his nature that makes him a monster. Don't let his sleepy eyes and easy smile fool you, this guy's a real snake, and if you leave eggs within his reach you'll see just how snakelike he can be. Please, give a resounding 'hiss' and 'boo' for Captain Hazama of the NOL Intelligence Division!"

By Ezekiel's commands the sounds of rejection echoed out from the darkness, as Hazama appeared in a flare of light behind a third pedestal. With hat worn low, eyes closed, and hands resting casually in his pockets, he appeared to be completely at ease. The smirk on his face grew all the wider as he took the time to examine his surroundings.

"I have to say," Hazama muttered to himself, sounding entirely disinterested. "This was not the arrangement I expected to find myself in when I awoke." Turning to regard Ezekiel more closely Hazama frowned. "And you are certainly not the man that I expected to be able to get me here. Should you actually turn out to be the mastermind behind this entire plot I will be most disappointed."

Ezekiel clutched at his chest, mock pair twisting his features terribly, his purple eyes never losing their intensity as they remained fixed on Hazama. "You wound me terribly sir. After all the trouble that I went through to gather our exceptional cast of contestants, the thanks I get are threats, insults, and blows against my ego. Except from Miss Vermillion, who has been most respectful thus far, and deserves a reward." With a wave of his hand, the number '100' appeared on the screen below Noel's name.

"Terumi, what are you and this pompous prick planning?!" Having recovered enough to stand unaided, Ragna hurled the question like a weapon towards Hazama. Fingers wrapped tight around his sword, Ragna's entire body was tensed, his muscles ready to react.

"I thought it would be obvious, Rags old boy, that I don't have anything to do with this, and that I am just as much a prisoner as you are." Despite his bored tone, Hazama did draw out one of his butterfly knives, flipping the handle around as he kept his attention focused sharply on Ragna, waiting for him to make the first move.

"As I have already said, I am the one that brought you hear, your host for the evening, and the sole being that should receive the praise and glory for all events which will transpire here." Towards the end of his response, Ezekiel's control over his voice faltered, having the end emerge as a growl. Clearing his throat, the next words to pass his lips were once more spoken with the greasy slickness of the game show host he was. "Also, please only refer to the other contestants by the names written before them. We can't have you confusing our home audience with all forms of insider jokes and references after all."

With a snap of Ezekiel's fingers a massive bolt of purple lightning fell upon Ragna. Screams issued from the assaulted man's mouth, blade falling from limp fingers as he was bodily lifted from the ground. The bolt continued for a few heartbeats longer, suspending Ragna's twitching form in macabre poses, before vanishing. Ragna fell over his pedestal, smoke rising from his form and air rushing into his lungs in gasps."

An intense look taking her eyes, Noel threw her arms out to the side. Mystic circles and symbols flashed around her fingers before her pair of Nox Nyctores pistols, Bolverk, appeared in her hands. "If you do anything like that to Ragna again you will have to deal with me." Her hands were steady as she swept her arms forward, her aim focused on the very center of Ezekiel's chest.

"Ooh, threatening the host isn't a very good plan in most cases little lady," grinned Ezekiel as he took a step towards Noel. Her determination didn't falter in the slightest, even as Ezekiel's deep purple eyes bore into her. "Well, I must say that I'm impressed at you dedication and caring. Maybe after all's said and done this show will be able to set the two of you up on a date at least."

That suggestion did break Noel's concentration, colour rising in her cheeks as she tried to avert her gaze so that no one would notice. With her eyes, Bolverk also shifted slightly off target.

With a grin Ezekiel allowed himself to continue. "Tell you what, as long as Ragna behaves and plays by my rules, I won't hurt your precious Grim Reaper. You have my word on that." With another wave of his hand the number on Noel's pedestal turned to a '200'. "Ah, I'm such a sucker for the cute young women with fire in their eyes and guns in their hands. I wonder if I have a lollita complex?"

Around them laughter echoed from the hidden audience. Eyeing up their various scoreboards, Hazama allowed himself a slight sigh. "Seems the game hasn't even begun and I start behind. Yes, she may need all the help she can get to try and beat me, but I still feel that as I'm not female I am at a disadvantage at the proceedings."

"Worry not, oh powerful and wise Hazama," gloated Ezekiel with an exaggerated bow. "Just making sure things stay interesting for everyone at home." Turning to face behind him, both arms spread out wide to bask in the applause that greeted his rapid movement. "Time that we introduced our last contestant I wager, since we'll need to break for commercials in a moment. Someone has to front the bill for this gorgeous suit after all."

Laughing, Ezekiel spun on his heels to face the three contestants once more. "This last contestant has a great deal of passion to her. Everything she does she throws her heart into. Assuming she remembers what she started after all, which can sometimes be the biggest battle she has to worry about. Nimble, powerful, flexible, and fluffy, this is the kind of living weapon that all men dream of having tucked away in their closets. So, give us a grand old greeting for Taokaka!"

As the lights shone down on the fourth and final pedestal, behind it stood Taokaka, bouncing back and forth, her hood hiding all her features but her glowing red eyes and right, toothy smile. With a passionate punch into the air Taokaka called out at the top of her voice "Taokaka boom!" The audience members went wild with excitement, hooting and hollering, feet stomping and hands clapping.

Facing the darkness with a smile Ezekiel called out, loudly to be heard above the roar; "And there you have it! Our four contestants will be getting right down to work after these messages from our sponsors. So stay tuned everybody, and be sure you don't miss an exciting moment of…"

Interrupting him came the loud cry from the crowd "NOL is SOL!"

For several seconds Ezekiel stood beaming into the darkness, the waves of cheers, predictions, and hopeful cries of "I love you!" sounding all around him. Then all at once his smile fell from his face, and he snapped his fingers. Light bathed the entire chamber around them, driving all the shadows into oblivion.

As they looked around, the four contestants saw that they were within a large domed room. The floor and ceiling were divided into interconnecting hexagons of silver, gold, or copper. Occasionally one would lift up slightly with a whirring of gears, before settling back to form a smooth surface. Cameras stood on trolleys at various angles from the floor, and also hung from the ceiling. The most shocking observation was the lack of anyone else in the room except for Ezekiel, Ragna, Noel, Hazama, and Taokaka. What appeared to be serving as their studio audience was simply a collection of intricately carved and painted masks supported on the stands scattered around the edges of the chamber.

"Well, at least one of you four knows how to play to the audience," muttered Ezekiel as he pulled a cigarette from one of the inside pockets of his suit. With a snap of his fingers the cigarette was lit, Ezekiel deeply inhaling the smoke, then allowing it to pour from his nostrils as he exhaled. Rising past his eyes, the smoke did nothing to hide the disdain within his purple orbs. "Have you any idea how hard it is to keep people's attention on an event like this, especially when you have to conjure up the resources for it yourself? You have no idea the Ars that I had to manipulate to air this to all the Hierarchical Cities, and you first three are just dull. Yes, the lightning, the cute, and the bored superior attitude all have their own niche audiences, but I need more from you all. Everyone except you Taokaka, you did exactly what we agreed upon, so here's your first payment."

A grilled salmon appeared in the air before Taokaka, herbs stuffing its belly and a delicious smell pouring off it. In a fluid motion the front half of the fish vanished within Tao's maw. Amidst chewing, biting, and the occasional near choke, Taokaka talked. "Thanks Purple Man! Tao knew that coming to do this show would be a good way to spend time. And now Tao gets to see Good Guy and Lacking Lady again. Tao didn't think you would be here."

Under her breath Noel began muttering "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter," as she crossed her arms to conceal her modest bust. Ignoring Noel's plight, Ragna turned to face Taokaka. "Tao, what do you mean you knew it would be a good idea to come here? Were you invited?"

"Of course, Tao was told that she would make the perfect comic relief for this game show thingy, and that if I did everything that Purple Man said I would get lots of food and get to have lots of fun!" With a fierce chomp Taokaka engulfed the remained of her grilled fish, a content sigh rising from her mouth.

"Great, I'm trapped with a pair of idiots and a stupid, furry cat," grumbled Hazama to himself as he glared around the room. "Only that cat would be dumb enough to actually want to be a prisoner voluntarily."

Snapping out of her self-criticizing mindset, Noel turned to face Tao. "Wait. Tao, did you just say that you are getting food if you do exactly what Ezekiel told you to do? What did he tell you to do, and how is it that you can remember? Normally you forget things right away." Under her breath she muttered "Except that stupid nickname for me." A light sob followed that comment.

"Oh, well I have a piece of paper on this table thingy that I read to remember what is going on." Leaning her face in really close, Taokaka began reading off a number of rules recorded there. "Number 1: Say 'Taokaka boom' whenever possible, the fans love catch phrases. Number 2: Don't try to beat up anyone unless Purple Man says I can."

"I wrote 'Ezekiel' on the instructions and she still insists on calling me that." Shaking his head, Ezekiel ground out the butt of his cigarette. "The rest of the rules will have to wait I'm afraid, it's show time again."

A confused "meow?" was all the response given before the red lights on all the cameras burned back into life.

"Welcome back ladies and gentlemen," called out Ezekiel with his old enthusiasm returned. "Now that you've met the players, its time to meet the game. NOL is SOL is broken down into three event categories. The rankings for the first category helps to determine advantages and disadvantages for the second category, which determines further advantages and disadvantages for the third category, which is winner takes all. Therefore it can still be anyone's game come the end, but you'd better try your hardest all the way through if you don't want to suffer to reach the finish line. So light the fires and pour yourself a stiff drink because round one is coming at you in three, two, one!"


	2. Chapter 2: Time for Trivia

Chapter 2: Time For Trivia

"Let the trivia round begin!"

Calling out with great enthusiasm and vigor, Ezekiel threw both arms out to the side. With a roll of thunder booming through the air, light blazed down upon him from above. Cascading waves of purple light reflected all around him, leaving Taokaka turning around rapidly near her pedestal, chasing the purple beams with vigor and innocence. In the air behind Ezekiel, a banner unfurled itself from the ceiling in a shower of paper confetti of many colours. Written upon the banner was "Terrifically Terrible Trivia Time!"

The explosion of confetti was enough to draw Takaka's attention back around. She stared at the banner for a moment, then tilted her head to the side. "Tao doesn't know what this 'trivia' means? Is it tasty?"

"Can I just be crowned winner of this event to save us some time," muttered Hazama as he casually tucked away his knives. "My competition is an animal that wants to turn trivia into snack time, and a pair that between them have an IQ as limited as Miss Vermillion's bust line."

Laughter echoed from the masks scattered around the chamber, some of them shaking and rattling in place slightly. Taokaka shook her head, staring confusedly towards Hazama. Ragna growled but remained quiet, while Noel resumed her pitiable whimpering and avoided making eye contact with anyone. Ezekiel simply smiled knowingly and looked over everyone gathered.

"Such an interesting collection of responses." Grinning more than usual Ezekiel turned his attention to the banner behind him. With a casual wave of his right hand the banner burst into flames, and was rapidly consumed without even the faintest whiff of smoke. "In response to your questions, Hazama, this is a game show. That means that anything and everything can happen, and just because you are part of the NOL Intelligence Division hardly means you are guaranteed to be crowned champion of the first round. Many of our audience members wouldn't stand for the thought of you being victorious after all.

"And as for your question, Taokaka, trivia is not something designed to be eaten. How it works is I will ask you a question, and if you think you know the answer push the big red button at your station, and if you get the right answer you will earn points. If you get the answer incorrect there will be no subtraction to your point total, but after a few of the earlier questions we'll move onto the Lightning Round, where incorrect answers will result in a most fitting punishment.

"As a reminder, the current point standings are Ragna 0, Hazama 0, Taokaka 0, and Noel in the lead at 200 points. So, let the games begin."

The lights began flickering and flaring in all different colours. Deep, bass heavy music echoed out from the walls, drowning out the gears grating within the walls and floor around them. Cheers echoed from the masks. Atop each of the contestants' pedestals appeared a massive, glowing, fleshy looking button, fleshy looking red button.

On instinct, interest, and possible lust for adventurer, Taokaka used one of her massive paws to poke the button. Immediately a pillar of yellow light shone above her podium and a noble blare of trumpets filled the air. "It's so squishy and squirmy," commented Tao as she opened her mouth wide."

"Don't do that, or you won't get anymore food," chastised a still smiling, yet clearly cross, Ezekiel.

"What does she means it's squishy?" Wondering aloud, Noel took her time to prod the button before her as well. She giggled aloud at the soft sensation between her fingertips as a beam of light that perfectly matched her uniform fell upon her with the sound of twinkling bells. Noel continued to push the button over and over again, her smiling and giggles only growing in enormity.

"And here I thought men were supposed to be the ones that enjoyed prodding large, soft, spherical objects." Shaking his head, Hazama waited for the obnoxiously frequent button pressing to end.

Instead, Tao seemed to have a light go up over her head. With a bright smile, Tao called out, at the top of her lungs "That's what the button reminds me of! Booby Lady's boobies!" And with renewed vigour Tao threw herself at the button once more, having trumpets and yellow light filling the air once more.

"So, this is where my dear show is going now is it, right into the gutter." Shaking his head, Ezekiel cracked his neck loudly with a sharp twist by his hands. "You other two had better hit the damn buttons in order to show the audience what charming colours and sounds I very dedicatedly put together for entertainment and my own personal amusement."

"I'll play along just to try and get this damn thing moving forward so that you can let me out of here when I win." With a bored flick of his wrist Hazama struck the large squishy button before him. A loud hissing of a snake rasped around the pedestal, and there was green light shining off his hair and suit. Grinning, there was a slight threat behind Hazama's smile as his lazy gaze slid over Ezekiel.

Not terribly caring himself, Ragna brought his hand down hard upon the button. Crimson light glared across the stage, with a gothic choir of ominous tones following the light. Shaking his head, Ragna just gritted his jaw and refused to say anything.

"Well, we have now seen what each of you will do when the button is pressed in order to make your answer." With a slight grunt Ezekiel sent a small flicker of purple lightning to shock Noel and Taokaka's hands away from the buttons upon their stations. "Now, let's get to the actual game, shall we?"

"Let's do this then," grunted Ragna as he fixed his steely glare upon the host. Around him Toa and Noel tended their injured hands.

"Alrighty then everyone, here comes question number one." With a bright gleam to his eyes Ezekiel snapped his hands in order to create an enormous echo of drums, horns, and the crash of cymbals. "Our opener is a simple, basic question that is simply a matter of attention and focus. Who's name, of our four contestants, has been spoken the most since our show has begun?"

With the lightning reflexes of her biological weapon background, Taokaka brought down a thunderous blow upon the button, yellow light and trumpet sounds blaring around her frame, casting her in great shadow and intensity. "Tao knows, Tao knows, Tao knows!" Teeth bared and eyes blazing, Taokaka glared intensely into Ezekiel's face.

"Well then, Taokaka, what is your answer to the question?" Focused, fairly bored, Ezekiel waited for Tao to provide the now, remarkably simple answer to his question.

Tao smiled, then cocked her head to the side with a slightly confused 'meow' echoing out from beneath her hood. "Wait, what was the question again?"

Silence hovered everywhere within the studio. The masks scattered around the room shifted and clattered ever so slightly, but nothing intelligible actually emerged from them. The other contestants, as well as Ezekiel, stared at Taokaka blankly, assuming that this must be some sort of act from their feline companion. But no, it was not an act, and Tao did not provide any further information or attempt to answer the question.

Recovering fairly rapidly, Noel was the next to strike the button before her. With blue light and chiming bells, Noel smiled weakly as Ezekiel's glare turned to face her. There was a slight quiver to her voice, but she didn't hesitate before providing her answer. "Umm, the answer to your question is Taokaka. She's the only name that any of us have really been saying after all."

"You are correct Miss Vermillion, congratulations on taking the first answer." Sighing slightly Ezekiel waved his hand and awarded Noel another 100 points, bringing her total up to 300. "You other three had best pick up your game if you want to come back now.

"The next question is a little bit more, shall I say real. The warm ups are over, and its time to get to the meat of this game. Question 2: what is the single greatest threat to this world as we know it?"

Ominous chorus and red light announced Ragna being the first person to strike his button. "Let me guess," ground out Ragna with a sense of disappointed certainty. "You are arrogant enough to think that the answer is you."

"Incorrect," chastised Ezekiel. "Although I am flattered for you to think I have such an overdeveloped sense of ego and power to my own presence. The world and I are certainly not on the best terms after all, but I am hardly that large of a threat to it. Anyone else have an answer they would like to suggest?"

Hitting the button before her, Noel came forth with her answer. "Seithr?"

"Another excellent suggestion, but no. With the powers that you humans take from seithr, losing it would probably be a bigger threat to you all then having it remain."

"The Black Squggly!" Shouting from behind her pedestal, Taokaka had both her hands down on her button, holding the rest of her body off the ground with them.

"No," was all the feedback that Ezekiel gave her, to a disappointed "Oh," from Tao.

In a snake-like hiss and flare of green light all eyes, and camera lenses, turned to face Hazama. Features remaining perfectly neutral, his voice was hard as he gave his answer. "The Novus Orbis Librarium."

"Correct!" With a snap of his fingers Ezekiel changed the score before Hazama to 100. "How very gutsy of you, being a member of the Library after all, to be willing to speak the grand, noble truth of the fact that if anything is going to destroy this world, it is them."

"You are beginning to turn from a nuisance, to a proper annoyance, and soon I expect you will turn into an unequivocal pest." The slight gleam of Hazama's eyes could be seen glaring out from beneath his hat. "Beware how far you try to take this game. While you may have been able to survive that brat of a bloodsucker, I won't hold back."

"Ooh, you are so very frightening when you are angry," his body wracking with shivers, Ezekiel gave a sharp laugh and ran a hand through his oiled hair. "Lucky I have you trapped in a cage of lightning then hmm? But these side conversations are drawing us away from the game. Question 3: what is the best way to attack a Librarium facility."

Once more Ragna brought his hand down on his button first. Hazama appeared mildly annoyed to have been beaten to the punch, which only made Ragna grin despite his situation. "You strike them right at the heart of their operations, no subtlety, no elaborate strategies. Just hit them so hard at once that they crumble before they understand what is going on."

"Very fitting for you, our powerful Grim Reaper, to answer that question for us. You do have plenty of experience in the subject after all." Grinning broadly, Ezekiel gave Ragna his 100 points. The satisfaction on Ezekiel's face only continued to expand as he continued his line of thought. "No mercy, no fear, no regrets. Cut them all down, those that don't know you are there, those that do. Men, women, children, they're only NOL after all so they hardly rank as children. And that potent weapon you call an arm needs all the souls it can get after all."

With a crackle of purple electricity, a series of the wall segments began pulling apart, rising out of the wall and sliding to the side. The grating of metal on metal echoed excruciatingly loudly in the small room, Tao covering her ears with both paws. From within the hole in the wall emerged a screen lit up with static. Cursing to himself Ezekiel ran over to the screen, began adjusting several knobs, pulling a few levers, and then finally punching the side of the screen hard enough to crack the casing and screen itself.

The image upon the screen began to emerge despite the cracks. Shown was Ragna the Bloodedge, cleaving his way through any and all people in NOL uniforms that got in his way. The opulent stone tiles beneath his feet were soaked in blood, corpses scattered all around with their lifeless eyes staring after their slayer. Priceless statues of gold held splattered streaks of crimson flying across their faces, a macabre imitation of spirited painting. Pale blue lights hovered above some of the bodies, before being pulled into Ragna's right hand.

"Where did you get these from?" Ragna had gone terribly pale, his voice the faintest strained whisper.

"Oh these." Without a care in the world Ezekiel turned back to face his contestants as the image continued to play behind him. "Made my way through a few old security recordings of Library facilities that you single-handedly destroyed. I personally am a fan of the soldiers that run away from you, sobbing for their lives as tears run down their face. While they might call you a monster I simply see your power as the best hope this world has for survival."

Unable to comment, forced to relive the many lives that fell to his blade, Ragna was transfixed by the screen and the sights upon it. His eyes stared unblinking, his breathing grew ragged, and no additional comment was made. Soaking in the suffering that this visual item provided, Ezekiel looked over Ragna's reaction for a few moments longer. After savoring the response he opened his mouth to speak.

A series of percussive explosions interrupted Ezekiel's conversation before he could start it. Bolverk once more in her hands, Noel stared intently at the screen playing the images of Ragna's past. Shifting webs of crackling electricity hovered in front of her pistols, preventing the armagus shells from being able to reach its intended targets. Another volley of blasts were prevented by the electrical barrier as well.

"You turn off that video right now or I will get through this barrier eventually." Noel punctuated her demand with another intense series of shots, the energy from these shaking the barrier of electricity, even tearing a small opening in it which rapidly closed once more.

Looking rather perturbed, Ezekiel lazily waved away the screen. Immediately the image upon it stopped, and the wall ground back into place. "That wasn't very generous of you at all Miss Vermillion, ending what was a most satisfying trip down memory lane for Ragna, and I'm sure Hazama enjoyed it. But no, our little princess just has to have her way, feeling like I'm bullying her precious Ragna so she brings out the guns again. Oh well, at least you have some big guns tucked away somewhere.

"Now you exhaust my patience, which means we are moving on to The Lightning Round." Behind Ezekiel appeared a flashing sign in poorly crafted incandescent light bulbs, flickering and humming infuriatingly as they struggled to all stay lit at once. As the crowd of masks cheered the lights grew to a dizzying intensity.

Then the bulbs began bursting and breaking, fragments of glass cutting through Ezekiel's suit. A stray shard slipped across Ezekiel's face, drawing a line of blood. All at once the cheers stopped. With fury in his deep purple eyes Ezekiel turned and destroyed the sign in an arcing swarm of lightning bolts from his outstretched fingertips. Scorch marks crisscrossed the walls behind the sign, a now molten pool of glass below it.

Turning back towards his contestants, the wounds and gouges in Ezekiel's flesh and clothing had already mended. His demeanor was still noticeably more bitter however. "So, the Lightning Rounds. Correct answers get you more points, incorrect answer give you a taste of my powers. And now I'm mildly aggravated, so try to get the answers correct."

All the contestants braced their hands above their buttons before the next question was asked. "What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?"

Ragna struck his button first, but only shock and confusion covered his face. "Wait, what?"

Purple bolts fell from the ceiling to gouge through Ragna's flesh and drive him back down to his knees.

From nearby, without actually hitting his button, Hazama asked a query of his own. "Now, are you asking about an African swallow, or a European swallow?"

The grin was plucked from Hazama's face when the bolt of energy struck him.

Waiting several more moments, neither Noel nor Taokaka hit their buttons. Ezekiel sighed, shaking his head slowly from one side to the other. "No one at all for this one then. Oh well, it lets me tell you another important rule, for when no one answer the question correctly."

Both girls were struck low by the crackling power that descended upon them, gasps and sounds of shock escaping their lips before they fell to their knees. No further lightning struck the men that had already been laid low.

"Continuing right along then…":

* * *

"And there you have it ladies and gentlemen, the end of round one!" With a bright smile plastered upon his face, Ezekiel basked in the applause and joyful shouting from the gallery of masks around the chamber. Behind him the four contestants all leaned against their pedestals, smoke rising from the scuffed and smoldering clothes. "With the exciting turn of events behind us lets check the scores! In fourth place, we have Taokaka with 274. In third place we have Ragna the Bloodedge with 513. And the winner of the trivia round is Hazama with 1964 points! This of course means that Noel is in second with 1069 points. This means that Hazama has the advantage for going into the second round."

"Yippee for me," grumbled Hazama as he picked his hat off the ground and placed it back upon his head.

"After a brief word from our sponsors we'll be able to move on to round two! Please, stay with us for another exciting stage of…

"NOL Is SOL!" screamed out the mask audience.


End file.
